It didn't take long for the owners of Rrazz Entertainment to find a new spot for their eclectic cabaret after the management at the Hotel Nikko declined to extend the venue's lease last year. New York promoters Robert Kotonly and Rory Paull shuttered the Rrazz Room after five years with a New Year's Eve concert by singer Kim Nalley and returned to the San Francisco live music scene less than two weeks later with Live at the Rrazz, a new nightclub located in the mezzanine of the old Cadillac showroom at 1000 Van Ness Ave.

They officially christened the space on Thursday with the first of six live performances by the Jefferson Starship. But even as the roar of the classic rock band filled the venue, Kotonly asked visitors not to judge the new space quite yet. With artist contracts to honor and just a few days to make the move, the partners had time to do minimal upgrades before opening: some paint, new carpet and the installation of the sound system from the old stage. They don't even have signage yet.

"This whole thing that went down happened very quickly and unexpectedly," Kotonly said, noting he had already booked acts for the venue through 2014. "But the most important aspect of the shows are here - the talent, sound and lights."

Plenty of artists will perform on the new stage at 1000 Van Ness in the coming weeks - from raunchy stand-up comedian Donnell Rawlings to refined Japanese jazz pianist Keiko Matsui - but the official opening for Live at the Rrazz, Kotonly said, will take place in March with a five-night residency by Patti LuPone, the Tony Award-winning singer and actress. "That's when the final product will be here," he explained, surveying the room.

The move means the venue will accommodate more people (the capacity at Live at the Rrazz is 239, compared with the Rrazz Room's 178) and be easier to access by locals. It also gives the promoters the opportunity to take over the kitchen, expanding the menu with dinner and dessert options. They've already hired chef Bronson Macomber, formerly of Gary Danko and Café Flore.

Challenges

There are challenges as well.

Businesses going into 1000 Van Ness in recent years haven't exactly flourished. Originally Don Lee's Cadillac showroom located on San Francisco's historic auto row, the eight-story 1921 landmark Art Deco building on the edge of the Tenderloin now serves as the home to the AMC 14 theater. Other ventures have come and gone: Crunch gym closed in 2009. The vast, empty lobby has played host to various restaurants, art installations and seasonal Halloween Super Stores.

The narrow 5,000-square-foot space on the mezzanine that Live at the Rrazz occupies, meanwhile, has failed to keep a tenant. Holly's Comedy Club opened and closed in less than a month. The Boxcar Theatre Company had a short-term lease. The Showroom and Tommy T's nightclubs also briefly passed through.

Jefferson Starship was originally slated to open Live at the Rrazz earlier this month, but the group's leader, Paul Kantner, delayed the performance because he didn't know about the move.

"Quite frankly, he had every right to be confused," Kotonly said. "There was no talk of anything happening like this. He didn't know what to expect. But we assured him that whatever he liked about the club, we created that. I would never put our name on something that is not a great product."

Brings lawsuit

In December, Rrazz Entertainment filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court saying the Hotel Nikko wouldn't extend the club's lease because its shows were drawing too many African Americans. A representative of the company that owns the hotel denied the allegations.

It isn't the first time the promoters have had to move house. Kotonly and Paull started booking shows in 2005 at the Empire Plush Room in the York Hotel on Sutter Street. That relationship ended when Personality Hotels bought the York in 2007, after which they moved operations over to the Hotel Nikko, bringing many of the same acts, including Paula West, Wesla Whitfield and Rita Moreno.

Kotonly hopes that with the Regency Ballroom providing consistent programming just up the street and new SFJazz Center opening around the corner at Fell and Franklin, the area will become known as a nightlife destination.

It may take some time, but Kotonly thinks Live at the Rrazz offers something special enough to make the troubled space work. "We're very unique," he said. "At the end of the day, when you look at the photos on the walls of the people who have played at the Rrazz, it's great. Some of the people you'll never see again. Legends. We have quite a reputation."